Aeroplane.



G. NORBERTI.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION men JULY 3.1911. 7

Patented Apr. 16, 1918.

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Giovanni Mwzaer G. NORBERTL AEROPL ANE.

. QPPLICATVION FILED JULY 3, ran.

Patented Apr. 16, 1918.

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Invenlr,

imlanniNo'fberl -igposition. Fig. 7 is a detail view showing- GIOVANNI NORBERTI, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

AEno'rLmE.

Specification of Letters Patent, I I, Patented Apr. 16,1918.

Application filed July 3, 1917. Serial No. 178,352.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GIOVANNI NORBERTI, a subject of the Kingdom of Italy, and a resident of the city of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful.

Improvements in Aeroplanes, of which the following 1s a full, clear, and exact specificatlon.

The object of this invention is the efl'ect- I ing of means for lessening the fall of an aeroplane or other flying machine whose engine has suddenly stopped, and which is in danger of diving to the earth.

To this end, I provide the flying machine with a comparatively thin receptacle within which is packed a parachute adapted to be instantly exposed to the air and opened in a way to delay the descent of the machine. 1 I further provide it with means for positioning at the nose of the machine a steering plane which will tend to bring the aeroplane back to a horizontal position.

Referring to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a flying machine provided with my improvements in operative position. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a sectionof the parachute. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the machine having the improvements inoperative. Fig. 4 is a side sectional view of the parachute receiver. Fig. 5 is.a front sectional elevation of the' same. Fig. 6 is a side sectional elevation of portion of the aeroplane body showing means for drawing the frontal curtain intooperative means for releasably holding the curtain frame in its vertical and inoperative position. The aeroplane to which my improvement is illustrated as applied, is of the monoplane type, though it is not restricted thereto, and comprises a body 1, wings or planes 2 and a propeller 3 rotated by an engmefl.

Above the body is fixed a receptacle 5' comparatively shallow and adapted to have its under surface act as a sustaining plane,

and, into which is packed a parachute 6. This is snugly held therein by a cloth cover 7 unwound from a spring-actuated roller 9 and having its free end held in place by one or more easily released fastenings, ashooks 1O beneath the front section of the receptacle,- as shown in Fig. 4, the cloth being At the free endof this frame is a roller 1 10 brought down and about the front of the receptacle and thereby made to close the openings 11 therethrough.

llhe cloth cover 7, being released from I the hook or hooks 10 by any suitable means, as an electromagnet 1.2, is instantly rolled up on the spring-actuated roller 9, thereby exposing .both the openings 11 and the parachute 6. The air rushing through these openings immediately throws the parachute up and out from the receptacle, where it is quickly inflated by the descent of the aeroplane through the'air, and being attached to the aeroplane by ropes .15, begins its buoying effect at once. These ropes preferably pass through tubes 16 beneath a plate 17 fixed to the ceiling of the body 1, as shown in Fig. 5. By having an even number of ropes, one thereof can pass from one point of the parachute, down through one tube, across beneath the plate and thence up through another tube to a point of the parachute diametrically opposite point of beginning. By having the ropes run in grooves 19 of different depths in the plate, they are kept from frictional contact with each other at their intersections. The ropes being thus adapted to slide freely in these grooves, the parachute can freely sway at difi'erent angles.

To make sure of the quick inflation of the parachute, a series of pockets 20 isformed about the edge of the parachute, each pocket having an opening 21 from its upper end through into the interior of the parachute,

as shown in Fig. 2. When the parachute is flung in its folded condition into the air, the wind enters certain of the pockets and passes .up through the same and the openings 21 into t e parachute, thereby quickly inflating it eno gh to open it to the sweep of the surrounding air and to be entirely inflated.

While the parachute will greatly retard the plunge of the heavier-than-air machine resulting from some accident, and will thereby save 1t from wreckage when it reaches the ground, I prefer to provide means for restoring the plunging machine to a horizontal position and so to further retard its descent.- For this purpose, a frame 25 is pivotally supported at the points 26 in a manner to take either a vertical position, as shown in Flg. 3, or a nearly' horlzontal one, as shown in Fig. 1.

For drawing the curtain beneath the frame and netting, a spring roller or pulley 34 is provided upon which one or more ropes 32 are wound when the pawl 31 is disengaged therefrom, and'by which the curtain is actuated. An electromagnet 30 enables the roller ,or pulley 34 to be released at will. This actuationof the curtain 29 may be done simultaneously with the dropping of the frame 25, and preferably with the; releasing of the cloth cover 7 and the inflation of the parachute 6.

The pivotal support for the frame comprises a frame 35 and braces 51 rigid with the body 1. The side bars of the frame 25 are extended, and these extensions 36 are pivotally connected by links 37 to the lower ends of the levers 39 pivotally supported at 40. Tension springs 41 and 42 attached to the ends ofthe lever'39 and suitably anchored at their other ends, serve to hasten the drop of the frame 25 to its nearly horizontal position.

To hold the frame in its vertical position, arms 43 rigidly project from the wings 2 at the sides of the frame, each arm having a catch 44 for locking the frame in place, as

- indicated in Fig. 7. An electromagnet 45 enables each catch to be withdrawn and the frame to be dropped at will.

Slotted bars 46 attached to the upper ends 'of the levers 39 and slidably connected with the side bars of the frame 25, serve both to -.keep the latter from descending too far, and

in addition, give it a yielding stop through their connection with the yielding levers 39.

To retain the frame in its nearly horizontal position against the heavy pressure of the air, atoggle joint 47 flexing in one direction only, is pivoted to each side of the frame and to an arm 43, as shown in Figs,

1 and 3. v

suitable means can be provided for the energizing of the electromagnets 12, 30 and 45, such as a source of current 52 (see Fig. 6), a switch 53, circuit wires 54, 55

passing to the magnet 12; wires 56, 57 passing to the magnet or magnets 30, and circuit w1res 58, 59 passing to the electromagnets 45 on the arms 43, as shown in Fig. 7

T do not, however, restrict myself to magnet cally controlled means for releasing the various parts described.

The operation of the aeroplane is as follows: Normally the frame 25 is held vertically, with the curtain 29 entirely rolled up, and the parachute packed within the receptacle 5. During the flight of the machine,

the frame 25 and net 28 give comparatively wease little resistance to its progress, while the curved under surfaceof the receptacle aids in sustaining the aeroplane in the air.

In case the engine suddenly gives out, or any other accident sends the machine plunging downward, the switch 53 is reached for by the birdman and current directed to all the electromagnets. Instantly all the relief agencies get into action, the parachute infiates and begins to resist the descent, and the curtain covered frame performs its steering function of guiding the nose of the heavier-than-air machine upward until the latter is-on an even keel, thus greatly augmenting the buoying efiect of the parachute ed for securing the parachute within the receptacle and to be withdrawn therefrom .at will, said receptacle having two parallel sides extending fore and aft of the machine, and said fabric cover having its front end releasably held at the front end of the receptacle and adapted to' be withdrawn I toward the rear of the receptacle. 1

2. A heavier-than-air'.machine having a shallow receptacle, a parachute adapted to be packed within said receptacle, a springwound roller at the "rear end of the receptacle,a sheet of fabric attached to the roller and adapted to be brought over the receptacle and to be releasably secured beneath the front end of the same. i

3. Aheavier-than-air machine having a shallow receptacle, a parachute adapted to j be packed within said receptacle, a sheet of fabric adapted to have its front end releasably secured beneath the front end of the receptacle, and means acting at will to withdraw said fabric rearwardly, the front end of said receptacle being apertured but normally closed by said fabric.

4. A heavier-than-air machine having a shallow receptacle, a parachute adapted to be packed into the receptacle and suitably connected with the machine, a spring-wound roller at the rear end of the receptacle, the front end, of the latter having openings through it, and a sheet offabrlc attached at one end to the roller and releasably secured over the top and front end of the receptacle.

5. A heavier-than-air machine having a body and laterally e ttended planes, a shallow receptacle rigidly connected with the machine spaced above said body, tubes extending from the ceiling of the body through the floor of the receptacle, a parachute adapted to be packed into the receptacle, and ropes suspending the machine from the parachute, each rope passing from one point of the parachute down through one tube and up through'another to another point of the parachute.

6. A heavier-than-air machine having a 'body and laterally extended planes, a shal- 10w receptacle spaced above said body, tubes uniting the ceiling of the body with the floor-- of the receptacle, a rounded plate beneath the ceiling of the said body and between the lower ends of said tubes, a parachute adapt ed to be packed into said receptacle, and

ropes for suspending the machine from the parachute, the plate having diametrical' grooves of difierent depths, and each rope passing from one point of the parachute down through one tube through a groove in the plate, and up through another tube to a diametrically opposite point of the parachute. Q

7. A heavier-than-air-machine having a frame 'pivotally supported in a vertical plane at the nose of the machine, a netting stretched across the frame, a'roller located at the upper end of the frame, a sheet of fabric attached tothe roller and adapted to be wound thereon, means operative at will for dropping zontal position, and means for unrolling said sheet to extend it beneath said frame and netting.

In testimony that I claim the fore oing invention, I have hereunto set my ban this 21st day of June 1917 GIOVANNI NORBERTI.

the frame to a nearly hori- 

